| Show THE TRUTH AB ABOUT UT OUR POLICE I III I by byI by- by I II William B. B Seve s II Seattle Chief of Police 1922 to 1926 The fl famous s affidavit upon which Mayor Brown depended as asa asa a 3 bas basis f for r a a. scheme to upset the deal whereby the city bought the street car lines from the Stone Webster Webser er inter Interests charged that Robert Whiting an agent of the Stone ii Iz t Webster interests had in influenced Influenced influenced In- In a member of the city council council coun coun- cil elI to vote for th the purchase Mayor Brown Bro as we have seen attempted to get this councilman nd Whiting to to corroborate the affidavit In his efforts to todo todo I do this th the mayor appointed the ex- ex councilman to a apposition in the city administration and became quite friendly with Whiting The city council efficiency committee in charge of Councilman Ralph Raph Nichols Nichols Nichols Nich Nich- was attempting to discredit the mayors mayor's administration through an I Investigation of the police de department department department de- de when Nichols got wind of the existence of or the affidavit affi davit Nichols wondered why the mayor having obtained the affidavit charging charging charging ing the street car deal had been accomplished by fraud did not proceed proceed pro pro- coed with the scheme to upset the car cai deal through Court ourt action It was wall while he was trying to find this I out that Nichols came upon a remarkable re- re i fa fact t that caused him to I give Up tsp for a brief time the the police j investigation and summon tho the mayor may may- I or before the committee I THE FACT NICHOLS LEARNED The fact that Nichols had learned was this That layor Mayor Brown had first of all placed the accused councilman in a It position of trust In the administration admin admin- Second that the mayor had apparently dropped the attempt to upset the street car deal after alter a trip to New York to attend the Democratic national convention It was while the mayor was absent on this trip that Mrs Landes as acting mayor dismissed me as chief of po lice Nichols in his search for evidence evidence evi evi- dence to to use against the mayor learned that Whiting and the ex- ex councilman were named in the l affidavit This made him w wonder onder why the mayor had appointed appoint appoint- ed the councilman ex-councilman to a position In the city city government And following following following fol fol- fol- fol lowing out apparently the line of thought suggested by the knowledge that this appointee of the mayor 1 was was Was' one of those the mayor major would have to prove guilty of misconduct j I if it he was vas t to prove fra fraud d In the street car deal Nichols Nichols' began Ita to examine into the real I I between bet n the mayor major and Robert Robert Robert Rob Rob- ert Whiting the Stone Webster I i agent And here a remarkable fact factor or or what appeared to Nichols I hols as a a. I I remarkable fact which would surely convict the mayor mayor came came to light Nichols Nichos learned that Robert WhitIng Whiting Whit Whit- Ing th the Stone Webster agent had accompanied the mayor to 1 New York With this know knowledge edge In his possession possession pos pos- session Nichols Nichos summoned the I mayor major before re the efficiency com com- coni coni- I for questioning At the same time Nichols NIchols' let It become common talk t that at the n mayor major t or had sold out outto outto to Stone Webster Why asked asked Nichols and to those who didn't know all the facts the question was a a. reasonable one Why did the mayor of Seattle take taker a trip to New York with an agent of the company he was going to attack attack at attack at- at tack And why did he apparently drop all thought of attacking the sale of the street cars to the city utter sifter he had made this trip The whole thin thing certainly didn't look good to Nichols and he was going to see to It that the public learn about it MAYOR BEFORE COMMITTEE The appearance of Mayor brown before the committee drew great crowds For what to be a a. battle to the political death it turned out to be d a farce Doc Brown of course didn't Intend to give the committee any satisfaction He was going to try to prove his claim that the efficiency committee was really a committee which was trying to discredit the fall fair name of Seattle by unwarranted unwarranted unwar unwar- ranted attacks upon the mayor And Nichols according to the mayor was one of the worst characters in inthe inthe inthe the city who from purely political motives and be because use of 0 private I I i I j I I I I i 0 pique was trying to ge get him Xi Nichols hols on the other hand was in interested interested interested in- in in proving that Doc Brown was a grafter and a crook of the worst kind who ho had gained office by demagoguery and who had sold I out the people to the sinister corporations corpo corpo- rations And so sOl they met each sparring for COr advantage In reply to question s by Nichols the mayor maYOL would make a speech reflecting on Nichols ichols and wind up his peroration with some question directed at Nichols and j carrying the Insinuation that Nichols Nichols Nichols Nich Nich- himself was all that he was trying trying trying try try- ing to make the mayor out to be be- be only a whole lot worse The mayor admitted the truth of ot the charge that Whiting the Stone I Webster agent had accompanied him to New York But he met with audible scorn the Insinuation that he had sold out to Stone Webster Webster Web Web- ster eter and was going to drop the scheme to upset the street car deal But just Just talk was not enough to clear up in the public mind the very plain charge that Nichols made The ma mayor mavor or had gone east with an agent of the power company REVERSES THE SITUATION One would think that it It would be j impossible to turn such a situation fo 10 advantage But this is what I Mayor Major Brown tried to do with what degree of success I am not prepared to say He would not admit first of all that he intended to drop his contemplated contemplated contemplated con con- action against the company com corn pany He hinted very broadly that he now had new evidence that the car lines had been sold to the people people peo peo- pie as the result of frauds But he charged Nichols had practically ruined any chance of success for the time being by making public the fact that the mayor Intended to at attack attack attack at- at tack the street car contract If It the city had to pay for the lines It would be Nichols Nichols' fault not the mayors mayor's Nichols by his timed Ill investigations invest invest- had practically ruined ev everything So the mayor I said And as to his trip east with WhitIng WhitIng Whiting Whit- Whit Ing It was just to get Whiting alone for tOl a time and a away way nom irom Seattle Just as as' as the mayor major failed faHed to tp prove prove that fraud flaud existed In the street car contract so the efficiency committee commit commit- l tee Itee was unable able to prove any conI connection connection con con- between the maj mayor or and discreditable discreditable dis dis- creditable things But the committee committee com corn was shaking public confidence confidence dence in the mayor major The resUlt of these constant a attacks acl s was vas becomIng becoming becom becom- ing evident tp every v ry political ob observer ob server Copyright 1926 Cosmos Newspaper Newspaper per S Syndicate Inc To be continued tom tomorrow |
